Easing Jess's Journey
Donation protected
The words my friend said to me recently have sadly been said to someone each of us knows "it is....it's cancer."
If you had a chance to spend any time with Jess Jordan lately, you have heard words you really weren't expecting from her at this time- "thankful" and "grateful". Thankful for friends and family (SO thankful) and grateful for a positive prognosis.
While her prognosis IS positive, Jess was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer-curable and treatable, but absolutely a defining "lump in her road". This year started out for Jess on a much different track-she was engaged in January, and was planning to marry the man of her dreams, Conor, in October. Their dreams have been postponed, but facing chemo, radiation, and their lives upturned, they quickly took it in stride and are doing the very best they can.
The amount of support and love from those around Jess has really inspired her, and she keeps talking about "paying it forward" as soon as she can. But what she does not fully realize, is she has been doing this for a long time. In just the five years I have worked with her, Jess has helped raise tens of thousands of dollars for all kinds of charities every year at the holidays. She spent time reading to children who were struggling at school on her lunch hour. Working alone, she connected with a group of women in Uganda who made jewelry to support themselves and sold it in the boardroom for Mother's Day gifts every year. In the bank of life and "paying it forward", Jess has been making regular deposits.
Now it is our turn to help this couple by making life just a little sweeter at a time it tastes pretty bitter. The money we raise will help offset the ancillary costs related to her treatment: parking fees and taxis to and from the hospital, things to keep her comfortable after treatments, things like that. Most importantly, it will help relieve stress, and allow Jess and Conor to focus on her health, and on each other.
My dream for my friend, once she lives all her other dreams, is to be able to look back at this "lump in the road", be forever proud of herself for pulling through, and realize how much she deserved the support she had at a time when she needed it.
If you had a chance to spend any time with Jess Jordan lately, you have heard words you really weren't expecting from her at this time- "thankful" and "grateful". Thankful for friends and family (SO thankful) and grateful for a positive prognosis.
While her prognosis IS positive, Jess was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer-curable and treatable, but absolutely a defining "lump in her road". This year started out for Jess on a much different track-she was engaged in January, and was planning to marry the man of her dreams, Conor, in October. Their dreams have been postponed, but facing chemo, radiation, and their lives upturned, they quickly took it in stride and are doing the very best they can.
The amount of support and love from those around Jess has really inspired her, and she keeps talking about "paying it forward" as soon as she can. But what she does not fully realize, is she has been doing this for a long time. In just the five years I have worked with her, Jess has helped raise tens of thousands of dollars for all kinds of charities every year at the holidays. She spent time reading to children who were struggling at school on her lunch hour. Working alone, she connected with a group of women in Uganda who made jewelry to support themselves and sold it in the boardroom for Mother's Day gifts every year. In the bank of life and "paying it forward", Jess has been making regular deposits.
Now it is our turn to help this couple by making life just a little sweeter at a time it tastes pretty bitter. The money we raise will help offset the ancillary costs related to her treatment: parking fees and taxis to and from the hospital, things to keep her comfortable after treatments, things like that. Most importantly, it will help relieve stress, and allow Jess and Conor to focus on her health, and on each other.
My dream for my friend, once she lives all her other dreams, is to be able to look back at this "lump in the road", be forever proud of herself for pulling through, and realize how much she deserved the support she had at a time when she needed it.
Organizer and beneficiary
Caitlin Murphy
Organizer
Dedham, MA
Jessica Jordan
Beneficiary